Tales of the Pack Verse
by jaimi-or-jaemi
Summary: Short stories in the Pack Verse, that came about because of various prompts. I will put who each story is about in the chapter title or author notes, along with where it fits into the timeline.
1. Madeline Lestrade - In Her Dreams

This is a look at what Madeline dreams her mate will be like

This was originally written in response to a tumblr prompt: soulmate AU, I thought I should share it here for my readers who enjoy my Pack Verse.

This takes place between Madeline is first told of her mate, and when she actually meets him. I will be publishing a story called Complexity about Madeline and her mate in the future.

For updates and information on what stories I am working on, find me on tumblr: JaimiStoryTeller

I love reviews and any other for of communication, the more I get the more I write.

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Madeline's POV  
Sleep was hard for her that night. She was too hyped up after attending her elder sister's formal public bonding to Aidan. She had been shocked when he took their family's last name, at least until his father and her teacher had explained the cobra custom behind it. The only reason they held a formal public bonding was so all branches of the family could attended and Aidan requested it under tradition. He is surprisingly traditional at times, though he is a cobra, and one thing she has learned is cobras are traditional so she's not sure why it's surprising.

When she finally does drift off, it is to memories of a vision once shown her. Slowly it builds up, ever the same and always different.

Pale dawn light filters through the colorful and vibrant trees of the park she is walking in. The air is naturally calm, a light misting fog settling over everything, not because she is making it that way, but because there is only the softest of breezes to move the air. It is surprisingly warm for late fall, allowing her to wear only a light jacket outside and making the air hazy.

Her first sense that something big is about to happen comes from the instinct to look around, to search for the presence that she can feel deep within her empathy.

Instead, she keeps walking, waiting and anticipating whatever is to come. There is a very small chance of it being a threat, and if it is, her teacher has taught her several effective and dangerous ways to protect herself using the talents she has.

She slows as a form begins to solidify and appear, emerging from the fog. Brilliant topaz brown eyes are the first thing she notices followed by the fact he seems to have a gentle smile. His olive complexion reminds her of warm amber, his features have a curve to them, softness she is not used to seeing in men. Despite its unfamiliarity, he is still a good looking man.

Stopping, she waits for him to continue his approach, waiting for him to close the gap between them.

When he is within touching range, he offers his hand, accepting hers and bowing over it to kiss it politely.

Warmth runs through her body, a tingling sensation making her glance at her wrist as a small dot appears and slowly starts to morph into something more.

She is sure he says his name, but she doesn't catch it, too busy staring at the one who's supposed to be hers.

Gasping, she wakes up, sitting up in her bed, and using her mind to fill the empty glass on her night stand with water. She was looking forward to the day when she will meet her bondmate as a shifter would call him, and soul mate as a human would call him.


	2. Sandra Watson - Unexpected Heat

This was originally written in response to a tumblr prompt: accidently/one night stand pregnancy AU, I thought I should share it here for my readers who enjoy my Pack Verse.

It takes place 2 years before John is born.

For updates and information on what stories I am working on, find me on tumblr: JaimiStoryTeller

I love reviews and any other for of communication, the more I get the more I write.

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Her twenty-third birthday had been a week earlier. For a birthday gift, her mum had let her pick one place she wanted to visit and had paid for the entire trip. She had selected Athens and was at the end of her first week there when the sudden pressure in her lower stomach announced she was going into heat early. Sighing because she had been looking forward to the rest of the trip and she does not know any of the packs in the area, she heads back towards the hotel she is staying in.

She had just reached it when a young man with rich chocolate eyes and wavy dark-brown, almost black hair touches her arm.

"Excuse me miss," he murmurs, his voice low hum.

Her nose barely twitches as she smells the air, catching a whiff of the fact he is an wolf shifter. "Can I help you?" she queries, stopping to look up at his face.

He has warm eye, the sort of eyes that say _trust me_ and _I'm safe_ to a person, with a matched warm smile.

"I was going to offer you help, if you desire, as you have already gathered I'm a wolf as well and you smell _divine_." he replies politely, "I'm Andrew."

Tilting her head, she studies him for a moment, before nodding once as a smile blooms across her lips. If she has a partner for her heat, it is likely going to be shorter. All of her shared heats have been shorter than ones spent on her own. "Sandra," she responds, "and that would be delightful."

Bowing his head slightly, he asks, "Is there time for a meal first?"

"A short one," she answers lightly, "this is actually a bit odd for me."

"Oh?" he replies questioningly, offering her an arm.

Blushing, she responds, "My heat is not supposed to be for another month, this is the first time I have been early."

"Ah," he hums, "I had a sister who had that issue,."

"Had?"

He nods, leading her to a small café just a street over from her hotel. "She died in a car accident. The other driver was drunk and not paying attention."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she tells him, her empathy picking up on his sorrow even as he shakes it off.

He shrugs, "She is with the Earth Lord."

They share a meal at the small café before her heat flares further.

"My home is there," he motions to one of the houses they had passed, "I went shopping yesterday, so it is fully stocked with food."

She uses her empathy to check his motives before smiling at him, "That's acceptable, I do not know how long my heat will last."

"We could collect your things and return to my home for the duration?"

Smiling, she nods and accepts the hand offered to her, the two of them head to the hotel where she gathers her stuff, and turns in her key before they head to his home. Once there, she puts her things to the side of the door, out of the way but still easy to access before turning to the wolf.

"Do you have any rules about kissing?" she inquires with a tilt of her head.

Confusion is the emotion she both smells and feels from him as he answers, "Of course not, why would I?"

Shrugging her shoulder she replies, "I have had partners in the past who will not kiss because we are not mates. I understand."

Stepping close, he smiles down at her gently, asking, "Do you have rules against it?" His breath is warm against her face.

Instead of answering, she places her hands on his shoulders and leans up slightly, pressing their lips together in a slow kiss. His hands gently cup her hips, thumbs stroking her slowly as they continue to kiss.

"My room?" he breathlessly queries.

"Yes," she replies, pressing light kisses to the underside of his jaw, nipping at the junction between jaw and throat.

He groans, a lovely vibration she feels against her lips before settling back on her heels, smiling up at him.

"Lead the way," she suggests.

Taking her hand, he leads her through the house to a spacious bedroom in warm wood tones. Over the next several hours he takes his time slowly undressing her and worshiping her body. By the time the first wave has passed, she is wondering if she can find him for her next heat too. Over the next three days, in between bouts of love making and sleeping, he makes her the most wonderful foods, cuddles with her, and just listens to her talk about whatever comes to mind. It is so very different from any other shifter she has spent a heat with before. By the end of it, she feels cherished. When her heat has passed, he invites her to stay in his guest bedroom if she would like for the remainder of her trip, instead she ops to stay with him.

During the day they explore the city, he shows her wonderful places to eat, the history that outsiders might never get a chance to see, and beautiful places. At night they spend it wrapped together, bodies intertwined wherever they happen to be. By the time she has to leave, she feels wonderful, complete, like she belongs, and asks if she can come see him again. He smiles without actually answering and she takes it as a yes.

Before she heads to the plane to leave they have one last long, slow kiss. It is a kiss that would stick with her for the rest of her life.

Three months later when she misses her heat she asks her mum to check her, worried that something is wrong. She never expects to get the news that she is pregnant.


	3. Sandra Watson - the Letter

This was originally written in response to a tumblr prompt: soulmate AU, I thought I should share it here for my readers who enjoy my Pack Verse.

It takes place 2 years before John is born.

For updates and information on what stories I am working on, find me on tumblr: JaimiStoryTeller

I love reviews and any other for of communication, the more I get the more I write.

Have a great day all!

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After discovering her pregnancy, she had gathered the money together in order to return to Athens. It was only right that she tell Andrew what happened, that she had become pregnant from their shared time together. Only when she gets there, there is someone else living in his home, a young woman who has never heard of an Andrew, and cannot help her. Frustrated, because she had never thought to get more information from him, she had paused on the walkway and just stared up at the sky, contemplating what she was going to do next. Perhaps she should see about finding a seer to search for him.

"Excuse me?" a plump, dark-haired woman with only the vaguest scent of wolf comments, hand lightly hovering over her elbow without actually touching it.

"Can I help you?" she inquires looking down from the sky.

"Are you Sandra? The 'beautiful British wolf'?" the woman queries, "you're looking for Andrew?" she motions to what used to be his home.

Smiling, she answers, "I'm not sure I am 'beautiful' but I am a British wolf named Sandra."

"Please, I have something for you, he entrusted it in my care," the woman states, motioning to one of the other houses.

She nods, motioning for her to lead the way.

Quietly, the two of them make their way to the house, the plump woman opening the door for her, and holding it while she steps in. Inside the house, her hostess pours her a cup of sideritis and asks her to wait while she fetches the letter from where she has been storing it. When she gets back, her hostess offers it to her with a sad smile but says nothing.

Dread fills her, something is wrong and this letter explains it. Her instincts tell her it is not something she should read around others.

"If you'll excuse me?" she politely questions.

"Of course, if you need anything else, I am here in the afternoons," the woman replies with a nod, "I hope you find what you are looking for, Sandra."

"Thank you," she replies before slipping out of the door and returning to the hotel she had arranged just to be safe.

In her room, she settles on the edge of the bed, carefully breaking the seal and unfolding the letter to read.

- _My Most Beautiful Sandra,  
If you have received this, then the prophecy spoken when I was a child has come to pass and I have joined the Earth Lord._ _Please do not mourn what could have been. For me, what was was more than I ever expected, hoped, or dreamed of._ _The moment I laid eyes on you I suspected that you were my bondmate, my perfect match, my other half, my soulmate as humans call it. I was both relieved and disappointed when our marks never appeared during the time we spent together. I never wanted you bound to a wolf who was dying before you ever met me. To a wolf you would never have a chance to grow old with, to spend the years of your life with. It would not have been fair to you. It is my hope, my desire that you will be blessed with the ability to find another mate. One who can love you for the wonderful and amazing person you are. That girl who found wonder in everything, whether majestic or simple._ _You are wonderful._ _There is so much more I wish I could have learned of you, so much I wish I could have shared. I waited my entire life for you, knowing that I would die within weeks of our meeting. I wouldn't change it for anything in this world. You were everything, and I mean everything, I could have ever loved. Those nine days were the best of my life, and I cherished every moment of them, engraved them in my soul, carried them with me to the Earth Lord. I was blessed the moment we met._ _Maybe it is selfish of me, but I hope when your natural time arrives, after a hopefully long and joyous life, that you will rejoin me._ _I think it is time I close this now, I am tired and it is close.  
With all my Love  
Andrew-_

Tears flowed from her eyes as she set the letter aside and grabbed a pillow to bury her head against. Of all the things she had expected, his death had not been one of them. How was she going to tell him that he was going to be a father? That they were going to have a daughter together? Perhaps he had a pack, someone she could speak to about him, a family that was there for him in the final days of his life. Why had he not went to a pack healer? An iota could heal far more than a human doctor, whatever was ailing him could have been cured, healed, restored. He didn't have to die.

Wiping her face, she decides that she will try and find out about his birth pack, find his family so that their daughter could know their other relatives.

The following morning she spends the day wandering the city, remembering those days spent fondly. She knows logically that they would have had their arguments and disagreements, that there would have been bad days, but the good days would have outweighed them. They would have found a way to make it work, because that's what bondmates do. instead, all she will ever have is the memory of what could have been.

No. Not just a memory, their daughter. A beautiful child with both of them. she would ask her mum to make sure that she carried it, that their daughter lived no matter what the cost to her, she would pay it, and pay it willingly.

In the afternoon, she returns to the neighbor woman, hesitantly knocking at the door. When the other woman opens it, she smiles at her, asking, "Could, could I talk to you about Andrew?"

Smiling back, the other woman nods, opening the door and inviting her in. "Of course, we can have tea in the back garden while we do so."

The two of them make their way through the house to the back garden where there is already a tea service for two set up. "I thought you might be back."

Offering her hand, she introduces herself, "I'm Sandra Watson, of the Watson pack in London."

"Maria DiNozzo," her hostess replies, a warm smile curving her lips, "I'll answer anything I can, but I do not know how much that will be."

For hours the two of them sit there discussing random bits of facts about Andrew. She learns that he left his pack as a teenager, after the accident that killed his sister because the iota had refused to try healing her. That he was alone in the world, with no family and no real friends. That most of his time was spent drawing and sketching. She learns that in his final weeks of life, he had been happier than he had been in the years previous.

Just before she leaves, Maria asks her to hold a moment, fetching a box and offering it to her.

"He left these for me, but I think they would be better suited for you," the older woman tells her fondly. "I kept my favorite, but the rest, the rest you take."

"Thank you," she replies, nearly in tears again, but smiling anyways. Today had been about letting go of a dream, at the same time it had been accepting a new one.

Her return to her home was not nearly as smooth as she would have liked. Her father was horrified over the concept that she was an un-bonded pregnant wolf. The chances of it were so very slim and it happened so very rarely. Her mum had gotten between them, golden eyes glaring at her mate as she snarled before taking her aside and reassuring her that she would do anything she had to in order to make sure the child survived.

Her life might not be what she was expecting, but it would be a good one. She would live as healthily and joyously as she could, and if she sometimes mourned what she never had a chance to have, who had to know besides her.


End file.
